Tacloban , Philippines -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The hospital applauded when the girl was born .

Many pregnant women had been evacuated to give birth after Typhoon Haiyan left Tacloban 's medical centers in shambles , but the mother did n't have time . Neighbors brought her to a makeshift hospital Monday .

`` The baby came out and cried right away . There was n't problems . There was no bleeding , '' said . Capt. Antonio Tamayo of the Philippines air force . `` It was a perfect delivery in a very imperfect environment . ''

It was a small victory in an area dominated by loss . Haiyan so brutally hammered Tacloban that the national Department of Health has sent medical teams to take over hospitals so local staff can rest and the medical centers -- many of them struggling to fulfill basic needs without electricity -- can be operational again , the Philippines Daily Inquirer reported . Singapore , Germany and Norway are also sending teams .

`` Our first goal is to make the hospitals function , especially if they are not structurally damaged , '' Health Undersecretary Teodoro Herbosa said during a briefing , according to the newspaper .

While the destruction is indiscriminate and damaged airports and blocked roads make the distribution of aid difficult , women and children are especially at risk as looting , the mobbing of relief trucks and prison breaks exacerbate an already dangerous situation , according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees .

More than 2 million people need food aid , the Philippine government said . Nearly 300,000 of them are pregnant women or new mothers .

`` Women and children are begging on the streets for donations , exposing themselves to abuse and exploitation , '' the U.N. agency said in a statement . `` With power lines still down , the lack of lighting has made women and children at home and in evacuation centers more vulnerable , especially at night . ''

The UNHCR is also deploying `` protection experts '' among the emergency teams it 's sending to the area , and it will distribute 50,000 solar-powered lanterns in hopes of lessening the the risks of `` gender-based violence '' and increasing security among families who have lost their homes , it said .

During the storm , survivor Jenelyn Manocsoc held her 11-month-old boy on her head to keep him out of the water as she clung to roof rafters .

`` All I hear is many cries , many people crying . Many people say , ` Help ! ' '' she said .

She does n't know where her husband and many of her relatives are , she said .

`` Now I do n't know where we go , '' she said . `` It 's very traumatic . It 's very hard . ''

Many parents are trying to get their children out of harm 's way , a daunting task considering the level of devastation and the long line of people hoping to be evacuated .

Another survivor , Jovelyn Dy , had twin boys just three weeks ago , and she desperately wants to find a safe haven for them .

`` We wake up , and there 's some people inside our house , looters . They could harm my children and us as well , '' she said .

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Baby born in makeshift hospital was `` perfect delivery in a very imperfect environment ''

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Roughly 300,000 pregnant women , new mothers in need of food , government says

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U.N. agency says it 's distributing solar-powered lamps to curb `` gender-based violence ''